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Countrywide Find UK Mortgage Applications Are Reaching pre-Recession Levels
Countrywide Find UK Mortgage Applications Are Reaching pre-Recession Levels
Countrywide’s market research reveals that UK mortgage applications are now reaching pre-recession levels once more.
Leighton Buzzard,
Bedfordshire,
United Kingdom
(prbd.net)
21/04/2010
"Countrywide’s market research reveals that UK mortgage applications are now reaching pre-recession levels once more."
Countrywide mortgage applications grew 20 percent in March reaching levels not seen since February 2008. March experienced the third consecutive month of mortgage application increases with overall volumes in Q1 2010 9 percent up on the same period in 2009, based on the activities of Countrywide Mortgage Services and its network of more than 700 mortgage consultants.
Recent application increases could be accredited to a renewed sense of confidence among customers and an increased volume of products to choose from. The overall volume of mortgage products increased by 8 percent in March on the previous month – a 112 percent increase since March 2009.
The research also reveals that a growing number of mortgage customers are opting for fixed rate products, which made up 61 percent of applications in March – an increase of 4 percent since February 2010. This contrasts with a recent resurgence in the popularity of tracker products, which made up around half of all mortgages in December 2009.
Research highlights for March 2010 (based on the percentage of overall lending versus February 2010):
• UK mortgage applications: Applications for two year mortgage terms generated the highest volume of applications in March 10 – an increase of 1 percent compared to the previous month but an increase of 27 percent on March 09. Overall, 89 percent of mortgage applications made in March 10 were for two and three year products – a decrease of 1 percent from February 10 and a 24 percent increase on March 09.
• Interest rates: The average interest rate of Countrywide’s Top 10 Mortgage Applications was 4.65 percent in March 10 (taking into account both transactional and remortgage customers) - up 0.13 percent from February 10 and a 0.42 percent decrease on March 09.
• Loan to value (LTV): The average minimum deposit required for Countrywide’s Top 10 Mortgage Applications was 21 percent in March 10 – a 1 percent decrease on February 10 and equal to March 09.
• Remortgage market: Whilst fixed rates remained the most popular type of remortgage product, 34 percent of remortgage applications in March 10 were for tracker mortgages – a decrease of 2 percent from February 10 and a 29 percent increase on March 09.
• Buy-to-let mortgages: 44 percent of buy-to-let mortgage applications in March 10 were tracker rates – an increase of 3 percent on February 10 and a 35 percent increase on March 09.
Countrywide Mortgage Services is the UK’s largest mortgage broker, employing approximately 700 Mortgage Consultants with access to a panel of leading high street mortgage lenders. To view our mortgages, please visit the Propertywide website